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Planets

by: Chris Korda

Publication date: 1994-11-21

Usage: Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Topics: ambient, experimental, algorithmic, generative, polymeter

Item Size: 264.9M

This experimental work uses sound to model the orbits of the planets in our solar system. The piece uses nine tones, one for each of the nine planets (Pluto was still classified as a planet in 1994). The tones are sustained throughout the entire piece, and each planet's orbit is represented by modulating the corresponding tone's amplitude (i.e. changing its volume). The orbits have the correct ratios, but the absolute times are scaled down so that Pluto's orbit takes fifteen minutes.

The planets' initial positions are arranged so that a harmonic convergence occurs halfway through the piece. In other words, Pluto starts out at zero volume and gets steadily louder until 7:30, when all the planets line up on one side of the sun, and all the corresponding tones momentarily reach maximum volume.

The pitches of the tones are in Pythagorean tuning, with Mercury assigned the highest tone and Pluto assigned the lowest, so that planets with shorter orbits have higher tones. The piece was created using custom software written by the artist. The software ran in real time and sent MIDI to two synths, which were probably a Kawai K1 and a Yamaha FB-01.